The game starts off on a positive note with character customization. You can choose from one of seven clans as well as gender, both of which influence subsequent dialogue options. From there, players can customize their character however they so desire, making for some rather unique combinations, including a seductive computer hacker, an intimidating gunslinger, or a persuasive brawler. Stats greatly influence not only dialogue but world interactions, such as lock picking, hacking into computers, and effectively fighting in combat, so planning ahead is key. If you choose a clan that goes against what you want, such as picking a Tremere vampire who uses blood magic while wanting to be a fighter, then you’ll have great difficulty in enjoying the game.

After character customization, you are shown several cinematics, in which the political background and foundation of modern vampiric society is displayed at its finest. The laws, known as the “Masquerade,” are extremely important in the game, and breaking vampiric laws results in a Masquerade violation. Invoking too many violations, such as feeding or using abilities in public, not only causes your fellow vampires to hunt you down, but also attracts the likes of witch-hunters.

The gameplay is rather basic; your job is to complete as many quests as possible, obtaining as much experience as possible, in order to make the strongest vampire ever. Easy, right? While the quests are indeed rather fun, the experience points rewarded are oftentimes a bit sketchy. There are times when players will think “only one point for killing a leader of a death cult?!” This can make leveling up your character seem tedious and unbalanced, particularly at the beginning of the game. Unfortunately the game can often be weighed down by the sheer amount of loading time. Every time you enter a building or area, be it a place you never visited or a place you have visited a hundred times, the game takes some time in loading the area. Most loading screens run rather smoothly and quickly, but the massive amount of loading screens (accompanied with tips on gameplay as well as information on the World of Darkness background) can also be tiring to go through, particularly if you’re merely visiting an area to view an email or talk to someone standing next to the door on the other side.

The sense of atmosphere in Bloodlines is extremely well done. Graphics are good on the whole, although cinematics (particularly when you choose a female character) could have been much improved. Timing always seems a bit off between sound and movement, and as a female character, you will take note that your chest is sunken in and your stature seems to have been designed to mimic a male character’s stature. Not something you want to see while listening for cues as to your next destination. The backgrounds are nicely designed, however, as the musical soundtrack adds a level of dimension that is quite impressive. The music is just right for the area: haunting themes in haunted mansions, pulse-pounding background to combat areas, and a nice mixture of techno and Gothic music for the number of clubs you visit during your travels. The dark, gritty feeling of L.A. is captured nicely, and proper attention has been given to buildings and scenery.

There are two major flaws in Bloodlines, however. The first is the combat system; it relies on your stats in combat (naturally), but it seems more like a “mashing of the buttons and praying you hit your target” system. Guns are practically useless, as they do little damage to supernatural entities (the exception being a shotgun), and even with a high skill level you will find that a majority of your shots miss for no apparent reason. Melee and fighting hand-to-hand are a bit better, as these attacks typically do more damage, but there is also an obscene amount of hitting-and-missing action going on. You can see the blade hit the enemy, yet it will register as a miss. The only fun part about combat is your vampiric abilities (each clan obtains three distinct powers), and even some of those are worthless in combat.

The other problem is that there are glitches everywhere. Literally everywhere. In fact, players who purchase the game must download Patch 1.2 from the official website in order to complete the game, since the game is known to crash at specific points throughout the main quest line. Once downloaded, however, there are still plenty of problems, including errors in items, dialogue options not appearing when they should, quest errors, and issues concerning character placement and camera. While all these glitches are rather minor things, they tend to add up to a frustrating overall experience.

Despite these two major flaws, the game itself is a unique addition to the RPG genre. The storyline is original and dark, and the amount of customization available to players, both for their character and for the development of storyline, is quite enjoyable. The fact that there are five available endings also makes Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines worthwhile to play over and over again, as players will be able to change sides each new night.

[Passable]

This review is based on a retail copy purchased by the reviewer.

Finally, on November 8, 2005, the world witnessed the birth of Guitar Hero, and it skyrocketed into popularity as one of the most well-known, accessible video games of its time. Harmonix quickly got to work on its sequel, which enjoyed equally high sales.

However, in June of 2006, massive publisher Activision bought Red Octane, and Activision’s rivals at Electronic Arts (EA) bought Harmonix in September. Of course, Activision and EA were not willing to work together on a third Guitar Hero game, so the Guitar Hero series continued under the development of Activision’s studio Neversoft. When Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was released, it enjoyed high sales but suffered much critique from reviewers.

Meanwhile, a new competitor was emerging: the new game Rock Band, created by none other than Harmonix, original creators of Guitar Hero. In the agreement between EA and Activision, Red Octane (now under Activision) was allowed to keep the Guitar Hero name, but Harmonix (now under EA) was allowed to continue to create Guitar Hero-style rhythm games. Hence, Rock Band used guitar, bass, drums, and a microphone to simulate a full band experience, and received huge praise from the gaming community when it was released late in 2007.

This year, Red Octane has followed suit with a new game, Guitar Hero: World Tour, that uses the four-player mentality of Rock Band. World Tour and Rock Band 2 (the sequel), released mere weeks from each other this Fall, and their striking similarities in gameplay, have many people confused as to which one is a better buy. Reviewers have been praising Rock Band and its sequel for a whole year, but how can they explain the high sales and popularity of Guitar Hero, even after Harmonix’s separation from the franchise?

For those of you who remain confused, there are some simple comparisons that can be made between the two games. First, there is a distinct difference in their aesthetics: Rock Band uses a sleek, polished menu style, while Guitar Hero prefers a more over-the-top, glam rock style.

The songs included on the discs are also a big question. Where Guitar Hero has been known for relying heavily on metal and glam rock, Rock Band has a reputation for erring towards more soft rock tunes. Though these reputations still remain somewhat accurate, both games have been attempting to alleviate these criticisms by offering a greater variety of music. One way they have done this is by using a DLC (downloadable content) system wherein users pay a small amount of money (usually $2) per song to download and play the song on their console. Rock Band has been providing downloadable songs in great numbers since 2007, but Guitar Hero’s service has just started, meaning that Rock Band has many more songs to choose from at the moment. Still, World Tour boasts a fun, but admittedly cumbersome, song creation mode to increase variety.

Finally, it is very important to note that the people who developed Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II (the two most successful games in the franchise) are the same people who made Rock Band. Guitar Hero: World Tour is actually created by different developers, even though the name remains the same. In the video game industry, it is developers (Harmonix), not publishers (Red Octane), who truly shape a game’s design and style.

So, which game is better for you to buy this holiday? That is a question that I leave up to each individual person. If you get a chance, play one or both of the games before buying them, to get an idea of which one you like more.

If you have kids, they might not appreciate the more mature sensibilities of Rock Band, but they’re sure to have fun with Guitar Hero. If you’re an adult, you might want to hold out for a little bit until Harmonix releases their Beatles game (which runs on the Rock Band engine) next holiday season.

Regardless of the game that you choose, there is no evidence that the rhythm game fad will be wearing off anytime soon.

Evan Minto is a New Providence resident and freelance writer. When he's not melting his brain away watching Japanese cartoons and playing video games, he's writing about them on his web site, Ani-Gamers. You can reach him at Evan.Minto@TheAlternativePress.com.